The Mason in the Mulcher
by Lizzy88
Summary: 3rd in a series- comes after The Woman in the Boat. In this story, Sully comes back and causes some complications between Booth and Bones, who are still together. I looove reviews!
1. A Message

The Mason in the Mulcher

_A Bones Fanfiction_

1

"Tempie, its Sully. We've got to talk. Its taken two years, but I'm back in the states. I'm in my boat in the harbor. I've waited for you, Tempie. And I know you've waited for me." _Beep. End of final message._

Doctor Temperance Brennan, or Bones, snapped her cell phone shut and stared blankly at it. This could not be happening. Two years after her brief relationship with Special Agent Sullivan, aka Sully, she had finally moved on and realized that she was meant to be with her FBI partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth. She and Booth had been dating for six months now and things were going great. But now Sully was back in the picture. Bones buried her face in her hands.

"Doctor Brennan?" Zack Addy blinked curiously at her. "I finished reconstructing the Bronze Age skull…" He looked like he wanted to ask why she had her head in her hands, but thought better of it.

"That's good, Zack. Thank you. Send it to the artifacts room please."

"Yes, Doctor Brennan." He shot her a look of pity as he left. Bones sighed and turned on her laptop. She had an email from Booth.

_Hi beautiful. We got a case!_  
He had sent her attached pictures of the body. She clicked through them and wrote her own message.

_Have you been to the crime scene yet?_

She clicked send and her phone rang. She eyed it like a poisonous snake and checked the caller ID. It was Booth.

"Oh hi!" She let out her breath in relief. Thank god it wasn't Sully.

"Bones, I got your email. You're coming to the crime scene with me in a few."

"OK, I think we should bring Hodgins, too. There will be plenty of particulates for him to examine."

"Oh." She could hear Booth's disappointment.

"Its not like it's a date that he's intruding on, Booth. We're looking at macabre remains. We can go out to dinner tonight."

He laughed. "Alright." He paused. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," She quipped, a little too hurriedly. He sighed in exasperation. "Bones, how long have I known you?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Bones looked up as her best friend and colleague, Angela Montenegro, walked in, looking concerned. "Booth, I have to go."

Booth stopped talking. Bones had no idea what he had been saying.

"I'll be there to pick you up in a few. Love you."

"You too." She hung up and looked into her best friend's knowing eyes.

"Sweetie, what happened? Zack said you needed me."

Bones left herself a mental note to give Zack more credit when it came to reading emotions. In answer to Angela's question, she replayed Sully's message. Angela collapsed into Bones' couch.

"Oh crap."

………………………………………………………………………………...

"Oh _crap!_" Angela's eyes went wide.

"Yes Angela, you said that."

"I'm sorry Bren, but oh CRAP!"

"If you say that one more time…  
"Don't call him back. Don't go to the harbor. Get a restraining order on him. Have Booth shoot him. You can-"

Bones broke across her rant. "I'm going to see him, Angela. And I'm taking Booth." She had decided this without really giving it much conscious thought.

"What?"

"I had feelings for Sully, but when he left, they left with him. I stayed here. I now know that that was because of Booth. I love Booth now, Angela. I need Sully to know that."

"Aww! That is so sweet! But seriously, Brennan," Angela turned suddenly sober. "When you see Sully again, old feelings are going to rekindle. Memories are going to fire up. Not to mention Booth and Sully are going to kill each other."

"I'm not going back to Sully. You know that."

"I do. But do you? You can't always be rational, Bren. This is going to be a tough one."

………………………………………………………………………………

Booth adjusted his tie and pulled up his flashy striped socks before entering the Jeffersonian lab. He had almost reached Bones' office when he was stopped by Doctor Jack Hodgins. He and Hodgins had always got along pretty well, and when Hodgins had asked Booth to be his best man at his wedding, Booth had been more touched than he had let on.

"Move it squint! Go! Run- get your stuff; you're coming with me and Bones."

"Field work? Excellent!" Hodgin's startlingly blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

"And you'd better bring your, um, bootie things because this one's pretty messy." Booth wrinkled his nose. He hated messy cases. Hodgins, however, had no such qualms.

"Dude, I am liking the sound of this." He hurried off and Booth entered Bones' office. He wondered what had been wrong with her on the phone. It wasn't like her to get worked up.

"Hey Bones!" She was sitting on the couch with Angela. She looked nervous. He leaned down and kissed her. She kept her lips tightly closed and did not respond. He drew back, perplexed.

"What did I do?" He looked curiously at Angela. She winked.

"Nothing, hot stuff. Brennan has something to tell you, that's all."

"Ok, let's hear it." He sat down across from them. Bones grimaced.

"Sully's back."

Booth blinked. He looked at Angela, then Bones, then his shoes.

"Oh." He felt an angry fire radiating outward. He had felt this when Bones and Sully had been dating- it had made him want to shoot something. (Mainly Sully). He ground his teeth and looked up, forcing his mouth into a tight-lipped smile. "Great,"

"No Booth, it's not great. We have to go see him tonight."

"But we were going to have dinner?" He turned it into a question when he saw her stony face. "Never mind. How did you know he was back?"

Bones played him the message. Booth's fists clenched. "Sonfofa-"

Angela smiled grimly. "This is gonna be interesting."

The three of them fell into a tense atmosphere, broken by Hodgins, who poked his head into the office, looking excited. "Ready guys?"

"Yeah." Booth yawned as he stood, then he helped Bones to her feet, keeping his hand in hers. "We're ready."

……………………………………………………………………………….

Hodgins placed several squirming maggots into a jar and firmly screwed on the lid. "These babies should give me time of death," He said, his voice echoing oddly in his HAZMAT suit.

"Great," Booth crossed his arms, averting his eyes from the mangled corpse in front of him.

Bones twisted the body's wrist, and it broke off in her hand with a horrible squelching sound. "Male, late forties to early fifties. African American. Cause of death uncertain."

"Gee, Bones, you don't think it was the mulcher over there? The one with the hunks of flesh in its blades?"

She gave him a dark look. "He was most likely dead before he was mulched. His head was removed first."

"So that's the cause of death? Decapitation?"

"No…. I think he was shot first. In the back of the neck."

"Execution style."

"Yes." Bones raised her voice. "I want these remains, the mulcher, and everything within a five foot radius of the mulcher sent to the Jeffersonian."

The FBI forensics teams scurried around to accomplish the tasks set to them.

"Booth, you and I need to get out of these HAZMAT suits and over to the harbor."

…………………………………………………………………………….......

The boat _Temperance _bobbed in the dark harbor, the light from its windows sending shimmering yellow caps across the waves. Seeing the ship Sully had named after her brought a flood of memories back for Bones, and apparently, for Booth. He glared sullenly at the vessel, his thumbs in his belt. Bones was hesitant to knock. She had to steel herself. She was going to break someone's heart, someone who had been very close to her. She squeezed Booth's hand and knocked three times on the small door. Muffled noises echoed from within and they heard someone fumble with the lock. The door flew open, and Sully was staring at them.

As far as looks went, Sully was nowhere in Booth's league. He wasn't as muscular either, and he didn't have that smoldering look that made Bones want to melt, but still, there was something pleasing about him. His face broke into a smile when he saw Bones.

"Tempie! You came!" He moved forward as if to kiss her and Booth flung out an arm, blocking her from Sully's reach.

"Nice to see you, Sully." His eye's narrowed.

"Booth." Sully picked up on Booth's defensiveness and returned the greeting with equal coolness.

"Tempie, is something wrong? I thought you were coming alone." He made it sound intimate. Bones' stomach clenched.

"I- we- need to talk to you, Sully."

"OK. Come in. You remember your way around, right?" He walked them back in, holding the door open for Bones. Yes, she remembered her way around the cramped ship. The tiny kitchen was to the left, bathroom right across the hall, and the bedroom… she tightened her grip on Booth's hand. Sully's eyes zeroed in on their linked fingers.

"Am I missing something here?"

"Yes." Bones looked at Booth. "We, um…"

"Ah. Say no more Tempie. You and Booth now, right? Yeah. Yeah, I should have known. Well, congratulations, Booth; You got your wish." His voice held little or no emotion. Booth glared at him. Bones met Sully's eyes. She had always thought they looked like Booth's- dark, brown, and thoughtful. Puppy eyes. Booth eyes. Maybe it was his similarities to Booth that had made her fall for Sully in the first place.  
"Tempie, if you're happy."

"I am."

"Then there's nothing more to be said here."

Bones turned away, anxious to leave.

"Booth? Could I have a word with you?" Sully put his hand on Booth's shoulder. Booth shrugged it off, looking homicidal.

"Yeah. You go on, Bones. I'll meet you out there."

"Alright." She dragged her feet, but she knew they wouldn't begin their conversation until she was back on the dock. She was right; as soon has she had gone, Sully shut the door. He stared at Booth. For a moment, neither of them said anything, then; "I hope you know what you have, Booth."

"Course I do." He said gruffly. He headed for the door. He didn't need this conversation. He loved Bones. He always had. He didn't need someone who had left her to tell him how great she was.

"Then you know I'll be fighting for her."

Booth looked back at Sully. "What?"

"I said I'll be fighting for her."

Booth bristled. "So will I. Always."

"Then may the best man win."

"With pleasure."

………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**There it is- reviews, please! The next few chapters are already written- I just have to type them up! Thanks to everyone who is following this series! ~ Lizzy88**


	2. The Ring

2

"I'm sorry, Doctor Sweets is unavailable."

"What? Sweets is always available! He has no life!"

"I'm sorry Agent Booth, Doctor Sweets is on temporary leave."

"Temporary leave? We need a profiler!"

"I apologize, Agent Booth."

"There is a psycho out there who shoots people, chops their heads off, then mulches them! Don't you think that that's more important than Sweet's little Star Trek convention or whatever he's doing?"

"Sorry, Agent Booth."

Booth glared at his phone and snapped it shut. "Well, start looking for a profiler, Bones. Sweets is on 'temporary leave'."  
"The FBI assigns new profilers. But Sweets was the only one."

"They have agents with profiler backgrounds, or ex-agents they can call. They'll pull one out of the woodwork."

"I hope so." Bones pulled on her gloves and surveyed the victim's remains. "Because this has got to be one twisted person."

Other than the skull, it was impossible to tell that the corpse was human. The mulcher, usually used for shredding decomposed leaves into mulch for your garden, had done a thorough job in mutilating the body. The misshapen hunks were spread out and placed where they were anatomically. Zack hadn't cleaned the bones yet, as they were still gathering particulates, and subsequently the entire scene was made worse by the smell. Even Bones was wearing a mask. She picked up what had once been a hand and squinted at it.

"There's something here-" She tore back the flesh with a nasty sound, (Booth retched) and extracted a twisted lump of silver.

"Silver embedded in one of the phalanges. It must have been a ring."

"Wedding band?" Covering his mouth and nose, Booth leaned in for a closer look.

"Wrong hand…" She said slowly, turning it over in her gloved palm. "I'll see if Angela can pull a design from it. This might give us a clue as to who the victim was."

"He was Edward Hastings." Zack came onto the lab platform, holding dental records, a picture of a man, and a file. "Angela's skull reconstruction got a hit- Dental records confirm it was Edward Hastings, age 53 from Bethesda, Maryland."

Booth took the man's records. A tall, burly man stared at him from the photo. His white hair stood in contrast with his dark skin. He was heavily built, with the look of a muscular man gone slightly to seed. He was laughing in the picture. Booth frowned.

"If he was wearing a ring, this photo doesn't help. Its from waist-up."

"Does he have any relatives?"

"A wife who lived with him in Bethesda."

"I guess we have to tell her."

"Yeah. But hey, look on the bright side Bones." He flashed his charm smile. "At least we can have our dinner tonight."

………………………………………………………………………………

Booth rapped loudly on the door of a large brick mansion sprinkled in vines. Spacious horse pastures surrounded the property, which seemed to go on forever. The fall air nipped at their noses as they stood on the enormous porch, listening to the wind whistle in the trees.

Booth turned to Bones. "Makes you want apple cider, doesn't it?"

"I've never had it."

He looked shocked and began to say something, but the door opened. A short, older African American woman looked curiously at them.

"Can I help you?" Bones noticed that even in the dim light, the woman was very pretty. Booth flashed his badge.

"Mrs. Hastings?"

"That's right."

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI. This is my partner, Doctor Temperance Brennan. May we come in?"

"Why yes, of course. Is this about Edward?"

"Yes ma'am. I think you'd better sit down."

"He's been missing for days. The police haven't contacted me-" Her voice rose in panic as she led them through the large, echoing mansion and into an enormous sitting room with three intricately carved marble fireplaces, high, arched windows, and a huge chandelier. A piano brooded in one corner, and five armchairs rested around the various fireplaces. Booth sat in one of the chairs and realized that it was an antique. Despite all the finery, the room was still oddly bare.

"Mrs. Hastings, we've found your husband."

"You found Edward? Is he all right? Is he hurt?"

Booth shared a look with Bones. "Mrs. Hastings we…. Regret to inform you that your husband was found- not alive." He grimaced as the woman's face twisted into a look of grief.

"We're very sorry for your loss."

"Oh! Oh god. Ed-Edward!" She began sobbing into her hands. Bones, who was sitting closest to her, awkwardly patted her on the back.

"Mrs. Hastings," Said Bones, working hard to convey her sorrow, "I understand that you are in considerable grief right now, but it would be very helpful to solving your husband's murder if-"

"M-murder?" She squeaked, and Bones realized that she had again said the wrong thing. Booth answered before Bones could.

"We're still working on the details, ma'am."

Bones spoke up again. "Mrs. Hastings, could you tell us what your husband wore on his right index finger?"

"A ring." Mrs. Hastings looked confused. "But I don't see how that will help."

"What kind of ring?"

"I-I don't know. He would never tell me- but I asked all the time. He was very secretive about it."

"I see." Bones wondered how Angela was coming with the ring design. Booth turned back to Mrs. Hastings.

"Ma'am, could you tell us if your husband had any enemies?"

"No." She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. Booth didn't think anyone actually had those anymore. "His whole life revolved around this home and this farm. His horses were his passion. You could never find him indoors."

"Thank you. If you have any more information, please contact us. We'll be in touch."

………………………………………………………………………………...

"Doctor Brennan!" Hodgins was waiting outside Bones' office when she and Booth returned. "Doctor Brennan, I found something. I think I know where our victim was killed."

"Good job Hodgins. That was quicker than I expected. How did you find it?"

"Well, I discovered, as Zack was cleaning the Bones, that Edward Hasting's shoes must have been put through the mulcher with him. I found a small piece of tread that had some particulates in it- there is pollen from a _Kalmia Latifolia_, or Mountain Laurel. They only grow in Maryland in moist, forested areas. The victim walked over the fallen flowers of one at very most an hour before his death. Are there any forests near where the victim lives?"

"Well he has a large farm- there are probably trails there through the woods. We'll ask his wife."

"If you need to find some, I'll come along- I can recognize the species."

"Alright."

"Brennan!" Angela hurried over. "I finished reconstructing the symbol on that ring! Take a look."

Bones and Booth retraced Angela's steps back into her office. On her computer screen was an image of a square and compass with a large, ornate 'G' in the center. Booth blinked.

"Free Masons." He looked at Bones. "That's the Free Mason's symbol."

Angela nodded. "I don't really get what it is…"

"It's a type of fraternal organization that uses masonry and architecture symbolism as an ongoing metaphor." Said Bones. "How did you know it was a free masonry ring, Booth?"

He shrugged. "My dad had one."

"You should ask Hodgins about it. He knows all about secret societies and stuff." Angela printed out a picture of the symbol. "Show him this."

………………………………………………………………………………

"Woah!" Hodgins' eyes glinted as he snatched paper out of Booth's hand. "Our victim was a free mason? Excellent!"

"Right, Hodgins. Lets cut to the chase; what do you know about them?" Booth ripped the paper from his hands. Hodgins calmly took it back.

"It's a fraternal society-"

"Metaphors, symbols, yadda yadda yadda. Yeah. Bones already told us the facts. What do you _know?_"

"Freemasons hold their meetings at Lodges which have their own jurisdiction. They use signs, grips, which are gestures, tokens, or words to gain admission to the meetings."

"And what are the meetings for?"

"Discussions."

"About what?" Booth took the paper back, more forcefully this time.

"About the stonemasonry metaphor and a bunch of other stuff. The contents of their meetings are strictly hush-hush. They aren't allowed to discuss politics or religion, though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. They can only refer to 'The Great Architect of the Universe', because all religions are accepted. You have to believe in a supreme being to become a freemason. One of the reasons I never did."

"Great. Do you have anything else?"

"Their motto is 'brotherly love, relief, and truth.' "

"Thanks Hodgins."

"No problem."

As Booth was walking away, Hodgins called after him; "Is it true Doctor B's ex is back?"

"Yeah."

"Dude!" Hodgins shook his head sympathetically. "That _sucks."_

………………………………………………………………………………...

"Why yes, the last time I saw Edward he was going riding on our trails. But Whitney came back without him." Mrs. Hasting's eyes filled with tears.

"We're going to need Whitney's address." Booth looked away as she cried.

"Oh!" she gave a watery chuckle. "Whitney was Edward's favorite horse, Agent Booth. He came back with an empty saddle. He was very spooked." She sighed. "We looked all over those woods for Edward and never found a thing."

"Bones, what are you doing?"

Bones turned away from the window where she had been staring intently at the distant trees. "Mrs. Hastings, do you have any Mountain Laurel on your trails?"

"Any what? Oh. Plants." Her face fell slightly. "No, I never really had much to do with the farm or the horses… I- I'll always regret that…" She trailed off, looking troubled. Then she continued, briskly; "No, for that sort of thing you'll have to ask our foreman, Dave. He can tell you."

"Where can we find him?"

"Either at the barn or at his new house." She laughed dryly. "Edward said his "best friend" couldn't live in a double-wide while he kicked back in a mansion. His med-life crisis come a little late, you might call it. He built Dave a house almost as big as ours- and more modern." She gazed off into the distance, smiling slightly. "I called him silly at the time, but he was always doing things like that- nice things for other people. I can't see why anyone would want to kill him."

………………………………………………………………………………**  
**

**The next chapter should be coming later today- Also, any ideas for the Sully/Booth front are welcome- I'll include the best ones in one of my later chapters! Thanks ~Lizzy88**


	3. The Silent Witness

3

The diner was almost deserted as Bones and Booth finished their meal. Booth moved a little closer to Bones. _Dessert_ was his favorite part. But Bones was still rambling on about the case.

"Well, tomorrow we should check up on the foreman, Dave."

"Yeah."

"And we should also try and find a profiler for the suspects…"

"Bones?" He moved a little closer, feeling her leg brush against his.

"Hmm?"

"Let's not talk about the case just now." He turned face her on the bar stool, and brushed his lips over hers. She felt shivers and pushed into the kiss, coaxing his mouth open and twining her arms around his neck. As they broke apart, Booth frowned.

"Bones?"

"Hmm?" She repeated, feeling like broken record.

"How do you feel about Sully?"

She froze, her face still inches from his, listening to his breathing. "I don't." She said at last. "You are all that matters now, Booth." She traced her fingers along his jaw and felt the rise of his chest as he sighed.

"Ok, Bones."

………………………………………………………………………………...

"Well yeah! Of course we got Mountain Laurels! Oodles of them!" Dave Pilfer was lanky and tall, with the leathery skin of a man who spent his life outdoors. "Good old Edward- kindest boss I ever had. I counted him as one of my closest friends. If you want I can take you out to see the laurels. I'll ride Whiney- he was Edward's favorite." His eyes crinkled as he smiled in remembrance.

"We need our plant guy."

"Come back tomorrow then! I'll be here."

"Yeah." Booth looked nervously at the horses. "Yeah, we'll do that."

………………………………………………………………………………...

Bones and Booth were feet from the sliding glass doors leading into the Medico Legal wing of the Jeffersonian when Bones' phone rang. She paused just outside the doors.

"Brennan." She answered it briskly. Booth waited next to her.

"_Sweetie!_" Came Angela's frantic voice. "You new profiler is waiting for you in your office- and you aren't going to like him!"

"Angela?" Bones cupped a hand over the phone to hear better. "Ange, I can hardly understand you- what's going on?"

"Don't go into your office- I gotta go!" The line went dead.

"What's up?" Booth was trying to steer her inside. "What happened?"

"Angela says not to go into my office- something about our temporary profiler…"

"I'll go check it out. You stay here." As Booth left, Bones' adept mind was spinning. She didn't want to be left out. No matter what Angela said, she had a right to see who was in her office. Making up her mind, she hurried after Booth.

She stopped dead as she heard raised voices coming inside her office.

"Well you can just go back and stick-"

"This wasn't my choice. Deal with it."

"Do you even know how much this is going to upset her?"

"She's tough. Tempie can handle herself."

"Of course she can. She won't let on how much it bothers her. And _don't _call her that."

"Booth?" Bones, despite a growing sense of dread, stepped into the office.

"Bones!"

"Tempie!" They spoke as one and glared at each other.

"Hello, Sully." Bones said warily, moving closer to Booth. He put his arm possessively around her.

"Meet our temporary profiler, Bones."

………………………………………………………………………………...

"What?" No. No. Nononononono. _I can't handle this. _Even when she wasn't around, she knew Booth and Sully would be jumping down each other's throats. She remembered Sully once saying he had been a profiler once. "Sully, I don't want to sound-"

"It's ok, Tempie." (Booth narrowed his eyes.) "I'll stick to myself. I brought you this, though." He held out a sandwich. "Remember?"

Bones turned away from him. "No thanks. I don't want it." How many times had shared one of those sandwiches with Sully?

"Ok." But Sully was persistent. "Well, I think I should come with you when you talk to this Dave guy. I _am _your profiler."

The way he spoke the words made it sound like the title meant something.

"I think we'll be fine." Said Booth grumpily, folding his arms.

Sully ignored him, speaking only to Bones. "I can read people. I'll tell you whether you need to worry about someone or count him as a suspect." He stared at her. Bones stared right back at him, determined not to look away. _There's no reason I should blush._ There was silence as their eyes locked. Booth looked from one to the other, but Bones was too busy having a mental battle to notice. _We would have brought Sweets, _she thought. _There is no difference. He should come. _But she didn't want him to come. _But he should. He should. _

"He should come, Booth." She said, speaking over whatever Sully was saying.

"What?" Sully and Booth spoke in unison again.

"He should come," She repeated, her eyes on Booth. His looked hurt and disbelieving.

"Why?"

"Because we would have brought Sweets along." She said, all business now. _Keep it together Brennan. _"This is the most rational thing to do."

Booth nodded slowly. "Fine. Sully, we will see _you_ first thing in the morning. Right now _we _are going to my apartment for the night."

"Enjoy." Sully said icily. "Bye, _Tempie."_

"Goodnight, _Agent Sullivan._"

Sully winced.

………………………………………………………………………………...

Booth drove Bones to her apartment in the morning to let her get ready. He sat in the living room while she ate a granola bar, brushed her hair, and changed.

"Bones?" He called.

"Booth, I'm brushing my teeth," She said thickly.

"Oh." There was quiet except for the sound of running water. Then; "Bones?"

"Booth?" She sighed.

"Can I ask you something?"

She came out of her room wearing jeans and a button-up v-neck. This momentarily derailed Booth's train of thought. "You never wear jeans."

"Well, we're riding horses today."

"Oh- are we?"

"Yes." She laughed at his expression. "Are you scared of horses, Booth?"

"No! I've just never ridden one."

"Okay. You were asking me something?" She laced up her shoes- sneakers, which she also never wore.

"I- well, Sully said he wanted you back."

Bones looked up from her shoes. "I surmised as much."

"I just- never mind."

"What?" She held open the door for him. Booth started a sentence, then chickened out.

"I'm going to suck at horseback riding." He grinned at her. She smiled back, but as soon as she looked away, Booth's smile fell.

………………………………………………………………………………

Booth's SUV was crowded, in all senses of the word. Hodgins and Sully sat in back, Booth drove, and Bones rode shotgun. The atmosphere was tense, and Hodgins was feeling awkward in the middle of a sort of twisted love triangle.

"So-" He began, smiling falsely, trying to break the silence. "We're riding horses there. Excellent."

There was no response. Finally Sully spoke, in a bitter voice. "I rode horses on the beach at the Bahamas on my trip- you remember the trip, don't you, Tempie? The one I invited you on?"

Booth's knuckles whitened on the wheel. "You mean the trip she turned down?"

Sully went quiet. Hodgins met Booth's eyes in the rear view mirror and it was obvious he was fighting to contain his laughter. Booth glared at him.

Another twenty minutes passed.

"Are we there yet?" Asked Hodgins.

"What are you, twelve?" Booth gripped, keeping his eyes on the road. "No, we are obviously not there yet!"

"I see your temper hasn't improved any, Booth." Sully was smirking.

"We can't all be androids."

"Okay!" Even Hodgins could feel the growing anger in the car. "I- um… _Man _I hope we get there soon!"

But it was another painfully long half hour during which nobody spoke before Booth finally pulled into the farm's driveway.

"Thank god!" Said Hodgins. Three pairs of eyes narrowed in his direction.

………………………………………………………………………………

Dave Pilfer was waiting for them with five horses saddled and ready, tied to the fence.

"You made it! Thought you had gotten lost."

"Agent Booth isn't exactly time-efficient." Said Sully, extending his hand to the foreman. "Agent Sullivan, profiler."

"Pleasure. And you are?" Dave's eyes flickered to Hodgins, who was patting the withers of a stocky palomino, who was chomping at his bit.

"Doctor Jack Hodgins. Is he a quarter horse?"

"Yes indeed!" Dave slapped the palomino's rump. "His name's Starky. You can ride him if you want."

Hodgins smiled.

"I didn't know you knew so much about horse, Hodgins." Bones was stroking the neck of a bay.

"I keep some on my grounds."

"His _grounds."_ Booth was still in a bad mood. "Hmph."

Dave Pilfer looked at them all. "Well, what are you waiting for? Saddle up!"

Hodgins mounted Starky, Bones the bay, and Sully swung up onto a tall grey. Meanwhile, Booth was having a particularly troublesome time with a fat roan that kept stepping to the right every time Booth put his foot in the stirrup.

"Let me help you there, Agent Booth." Dave walked over and held the roan steady while Booth hauled himself up by the saddle horn.

"Oof." He grunted, swaying. He seized the reins in his fists. "Ok. Cool. Let's go."

After Dave had mounted Whitney, a leggy black, they set off, with Booth bringing up the rear. Hodgins rode like a natural, and Sully and Bones were both very good. Booth, however, was wincing as he bounced up and down in his seat, clutching the saddle horn. Bones looked back at him and slowed her horse to ride beside him.

"Hey."

"Hmph." He said again, even more sullenly this time.

"It shouldn't be long now." She said. "Hey, do you want to try something?"

"What?" He raised his eyebrows as she smiled mischievously.

"Hold still," She warned him. Booth froze in the saddle. Bones leaned across the open space between their horses. Getting the idea, Booth leaned out to meet her, and they kissed as their horses trotted next to each other. Bones pulled back, beaming.

"I love you." She hadn't ever said this out loud. Booth's eyes softened.

"I love you too." He glanced at her hand. "I'd hold your hand, but I don't think I should let go just yet."

They laughed, and Hodgins yelled.

"Doctor Brennan!" He had found something.

Bones didn't pause. Up ahead, she could see Hodgins, Sully, and Dave, off their horses, looking at something in a bunch of bushes. She flung herself out of the saddle and bolted towards them.

"Bones!" Called Booth. "Bones! How do…. I… get…. off?" He was kicking his legs, trying to free his feet from the stirrups. His horse, meanwhile, was enjoying some grass.

"Booones!"

Bones ignoring Booth's pleas knelt over the patch of dirt around which the others were surrounding. The soil looked freshly overturned, as if someone had been recently digging there. With a determined look on her face, Bones pulled on her rubber examination gloves and began to sift through the soft dirt. Her fingers struck something hard and cold. She instinctively knew what it was.

"The murder weapon," she breathed, unearthing a dirty gun. "22 Caliber. This matches the gun that killed Edward Hastings."

Hodgins was eyeing the surrounding foliage intently. "Here!" He exclaimed, suddenly pointing. "_Kalmia Latifolia- _Mountain Laurel."

"Are you sure?" Bones was bagging the gun.

"White flowers, waxy leaves, seven feet tall… yes. This is definitely it."

"We have our crime scene." As Bones spoke, Whitney let loose a high-pitched whinny and his eyes rolled. Ignoring Dave, who was trying to calm him, the horse wheeled and bolted into the trees.

"Whitney! This has to be where it happened ma'am." Dave looked shocked. "Whitney saw Edward's murder!"

"How do you solve a murder when the only witness is a horse?"


	4. Tempie vs Bones

4

Booth jogged up to the Jeffersonian lab platform to where Zack was examining the skull and gun.

"Well?"

"Its a match. Ballistics confirmed, and trace bullet par-"

"Zack! Any fingerprints on the gun?"

"No... but there were trace amounts of nail polish on the trigger."

"So a woman shot him..."

Zack frowned, looking suspicious. "Not necessarily. My mailman wears nail polish... he also is quite good at walking in heels-"

Booth groaned and wheeled away from Zack as Bones entered the lab platform, pulling on her gloves.

"Hey," She kissed his cheek as she went by, her eyes never leaving the skull."

"Hi." He watched her work for a while, carefully examining each of the newly cleaned bone shards, then walked over to Hodgins, who was leaning over his computer.

"Hey Hodgins."

"Booth. Hey..." He was squinting at something in his microscope. "Could you look at this?"

"Sure. What is it?" He bent his head over the microscope, peering intently at a tiny shard of something light brown.

"I... I can't be sure. Its wood, a very small amount, but its compressed wood. I have no idea how a chip of compressed particle board would have ended up at the crime scene-"

Booth jumped, poking himself in the eye with the microscope. "What did you just say it was?"

"Particle board. Like for drywall..."

"Drywall!" Booth leapt up, an idea flaring into existence in his mind. "Bones!"

...

Bones watched closely through the glass of the interrogation room's viewing area as Booth questioned Dave Pilfer. The tall, thin man in his worn jeans and flannel shirt looked extremely out of place in the dark room, across from Booth, who was looking particularly intimidating in his dark suit.

"There was particle board found at the scene, Mr. Pilfer. I _know _ you just got a new house- who else could have tracked that out?"

"Well now, just cause a man's kitchen isn't finished is not enough to incriminate him for murder! I know that-"

"I know that you live alone, and haven't had any workers in your house for some time now. So you're the only one that could have tracked that out into the crime scene."

"I- Edward had a key to my house! He could have gone in to grab something and tracked it to the scene himself!"

Booth sat back to stare at him. "Why did Edward have a key to your house?"

"To let the workers in when I was out in the fields!"

"Didn't he tell you when that happened?"

"Well yeah... he usual gave my cell a call- but maybe-"

"Mr. Pilfer." Booth leaned in. "Mrs. Hastings told us your house was as big as hers and more up to date. Now you're telling me that-"

"_What_!" Dave Pilfer's eyes widened and he laughed out loud. "As big as hers? Ha!" He leaned closer to Booth. "My new house ain't any bigger than my double wide- I wouldn't let Edward build me a , didn't want a house at all, but Edward insisted. So I said all I wanted was some plumbing that actually ran hot water and a fridge that could make ice!" He chuckled darkly. "That woman was in conniptions. She was screaming herself hoarse when Edward told her he took the money out of their savings. Not that it was much- for them. She turned on him- far as I know they weren't even talking at the time of his death." He narrowed his eyes at Booth. "I tell you, I wasn't too happy that a key to my house was in the same mansion as that woman."

Bones stared down at the interrogation room, where Booth looked stunned. Bones grabbed the intercom to Booth's microphone. "She lied to us."

...

Bones was back watching the proceedings in the interrogation room, and this time she wasn't alone. Sully stood a little too close to her, his eyes narrowed as he watched Booth question Mrs. Hastings. Sully kept tapping the intercom, telling Booth what to say, how to question her. Bones was bristling. Booth had been doing this much longer than Sully- and he was a master at it. Of course if Bones was annoyed at Sully's constant interruptions of Booth's questioning, Booth was nothing short of furious.

"Mrs. Hastings. You lied to us. Now I want you come straight and tell me the nature of your relationship with your husband in the weeks leading up to his death."

Mrs. Hastings' almond eyes were not watery anymore. They were hard and cold and full of hatred."Are you suggesting that my husband and I's sexual relationship would make me a suspect?"

"Answer the question, please." Booth stared her down.

"My husband and I were not on speaking terms. He was sleeping in the spare bedroom and eating meals in his office."

Booth raised his eyebrows. "And why were you so angry at your husband?"

She sniffed arrogantly. "Agent Booth, we had been saving up for years to buy a house in the city, away from those dirty animals and foremen. Edward had suddenly decided that he would rather retire on the farm then in the city, and used a large portion of our savings to build his foreman a larger house- _without my consent. _A joint savings account- and he didn't tell me about the withdrawal." Her eyes blazed. "You could say I was angry, Agent Booth."

"And so, you confronted him, he refused to move to the city, and so you killed him."

She didn't blink. "Really now?"

"Yes." His eyes bored into hers.

Sully leaned forward towards the microphone. "Ask her why he snuck into David Pilfer's house."

Booth cut his eyes at the glass behind which Sully stood. "You snuck into Dave's house to get the 22 caliber rifle I'm sure we will find missing, and invited your husband on a ride to forgive and make up."

Sully sighed and glared. Bones fidgeted.

"You waited until you were far away from the house and you shot him. His horse ran away and you buried the gun. You shoved his body in the trunk of your car and planned to dump him in the most convenient place- you found it easily. A mulcher."

Bones spoke into the microphone this time. "But the head was detached form the body-"

"There was one problem though, wasn't there? His head wouldn't fit. So you threw in in the top and drove off." Booth glared at the woman before him. "You were gonna use all your savings to move to the city. "

Mrs. Hastings drummed her nails on the table, looking bored. "And how do you plan to prove this wonderful story?"

"Like this." Booth slid a warrant towards her and pointed to her hand, complete with painted fingernails.

...

Booth walked into the room where Bones and Sully were waiting. "Hodgins is examining her nail polish right now. It should be about an hour before we can arrest her." He put an arm around Bone's waist, turning to Sully. "Well, we got her. You can go home now."

Sully clenched his teeth together. "You know Booth, I don't think you've let Tempie talk to me once since I've been here..."

"What the hell? You two were just alone in this room for about an hour!"

"You could let Tempie dec-"

"Stop calling her that!" Booth's hand jumped almost unconsciously to his gun.

"Booth!" Bones jumped between them, keeping her eyes locked on Booth's. "Booth... please."

"You'd better listen to _Tempie_, Booth."

"_I said stop calling her that!" _Booth lunged around Bones and socked Sully straight in the mouth. Bones gaped at them as Sully stumbled back, then jumped to his feet, ready to respond with a retaliatory punch, but Bones was between them again.

"Booth, this is stupid. Booth, this isn't even an argument! Booth-" She came closer to him, and leaned her face close to his. "Booth, I love you. Please."

All the fight seemed to drain out of him. Bones turned to Sully. "You should leave now."

"Tempie... " Sully came closer to her, his face inches from hers. "Tempie, think about this-"

"I have thought about this. And I think you should leave."

He came, if possible, even closer. "Don't do this."

"I just did." And she turned away from him. Sully left, slamming the door behind him. Booth turned to look at Bones, his face full of that smoldering look that turned her legs to butter.

"Thanks, Bones."

And in response she kissed him. It was a long kiss, hot and lingering, and when they had finally pulled apart for air, she kissed him one more time.

"There was never any choice, Booth."

And they walked out of the interrogation viewing room hand in hand.

FIN

**Okay, let me just apologize for it taking this long to update- I moved in and out of the country twice since I last sat down at stared at this fanfiction, and I'm so sorry! :P Thanks to everyone who has stuck with it this long and is still following the series! :D love~ Lizzy88**


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